YOUNG people in York have been warned they are putting their lives at peril by using a frozen lake as a playground.

One resident told The Press of his horror when he saw a group of children playing on Rawcliffe Lake, which has frozen over.

Father-of-two David Sempers said he was walking on the footpath around the lake when he saw about five children throwing stones on to the ice to test its strength, before stepping out on to the frozen water.

“I couldn’t believe it,” said Mr Sempers, 37, who works as a railway engineer. “I don’t think they are bad kids, I just don’t think they realise the danger – they think it’s just a bit of fun.”

Another local resident AJ Durling, 27, said he and his wife had phoned police to alert them. “It’s very stupid,” he said. “People should go into schools and tell these kids they could be dead in four or five minutes if they do it.”

Richard Henry, of North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service, condemned the youngsters’ actions. He said: “History shows that if someone falls through ice they may well disappear out of sight, away from help and quickly drown. Once in the water, a casualty will quickly be overcome by the intense cold and unable to help themselves. “Passers by and members of the emergency services may well then have to risk their own lives to carry out rescues.”

In 2003, Rawcliffe Lake was the scene of a near tragedy, when two teenagers fell through thin ice and had to be rescued by friends.

City of York councillor Richard Moore, who represents the Skelton, Rawcliffe and Clifton Without ward, said: “I would ask all parents ensure their children know the dangers of playing on the ice, and I hope the message will get through without a tragedy.”

• A six-year-old boy was lucky to escape with his life after falling into a frozen pond at his home near Thatcham, in Berkshire, on Tuesday.

It took fire crews about half-an-hour to rescue Thomas Hudson from the icy waters and he remains in a critical condition in hospital.